knows the moon
is on the other side
Night doesn't offer
a flashlight,
or a map
God is on your side,
my soft-footed love
I am a lost pilgrim
hunting blind
amidst blackberry bushes
that don't want me there
One sure foot before
the other
across an ink-hearted night
Mighty small one:
that I had your direction
that I shared
your intrepid focus
Great dreams settle
in small ponds
I hope that God is smiling
on a small branch
turtle coasts downriver
sightseeing on the way
girly rainbow turtle wears lime like it is in style
her stripes of fuchsia and orange can be seen a mile
she prances around like she owns the bog
annoying the self-appointed king, old bullfrog
girly rainbow turtle is as jazzy as outside turtles can be
Maybe even more so, she looks like a designer’s spree
Her turquoise and red offset her gorgeous turtle eyes
She can be seen in between the cattails, no big surprise.
Snapping Turtle swims
through green Mississippi slew
and raids my stringer.
We miss you they sang
I miss you I sing
He misses us we know
They miss us I know
We miss them they should know
I love them they know
My birds sing to me
My birds still speak to me
I sing to my birds I love you
They sing to me we miss you
He sings to me we will be together my son
I sing to him I cannot wait for my father
My traveling, checkered sky,
A dome I convey, this portable sanctuary,
Heavy and hard, but expresses greatness,
At the same time, anchors my quick travel.
The sky’s song in motion, beautiful to my dismay,
And I can only see the foamy waters up to the horizon,
Sore leather oars row through the sand,
Practically aching for liquid muscle.
Daystar pounds my head, rays spill on grainy grit,
Deafening calls from the aforementioned avians,
Crossing the silver margin, pulled into shivering silk,
At last, the heavy earth lets go, and home is a world without walls.
The turtle sighed,
"You're going to take too long, aren't you?"
He slandered—yet, not exactly a lie—
The sloths eyes slowly began peer into the distance
As it gathered thought to forge reply
The turtle died
The sloth eyes slowly grew wide—
Not again;
Another friend,
Inhaling deep to sigh
In another life, I have been a sea turtle.
Grown up without a mother.
Never been taught by anyone.
And yet?
In the end?
I have made my way in the ocean.
20.
Fast Turtle
River yonder bathe Danica baby subtle
Shampoo and soap ye by Mother Lily gentle
Far from across mom's eyes see
Running reptile must clumsy
Huge, unusual blue-green hump rush gone fast turtle.
-01/08/2007
(Miagao)
*Topsy-Turvy Limerick Ironic
Turtle Memories
I am a turtle hatched from a shell
On a beach. I think, Atlantic City
Not born in a hospital, as that’s for people
So I leave to find the comfort of the sea
Safe in the company of my little army
There on the shore of sands I crawl
In armored green and flapping flippers as feet
Not to be defeated by the angry sea gulls
Screaming, scrambling for free meat
Dive bombing Kamikaze enemies rain down
Being picked off one by one is not an option
As we have numbers on our side to survive
Marching awkwardly toward death or freedom
On sands of white and peppered grains of gray
I stand for turtles everywhere with hunger
A slice of pizza would be nice
Or an ice cold sherbet to quench the thirst
But the boardwalk is so far away and hard to climb
I have no money in my pockets
I have no pockets as I’m reminded
Only memories of mommy
And she insists that I eat fishies
There's a turtle in the rock garden
Looking all forlorn
Wondering where all her turtle friends and family are
And why she is stuck in a rock garden
And not in her home
In the ocean with all her turtle friends and family
byzantine turtle
a renaissance animal
wise as da vinci
waste in this world
innovative ideas
no one speaks turtle
patience and wisdom
grounded emotional depth
a steady progress
seeks healthy boundaries
regular self-reliance
the turtle totem
Wyandotte Indians
the peninsula dwellers
Iroquois speaking
their sign is turtle
the world was created
on the turtles back
Humble – Emma Maelly
My life feels like a track,
Conditioning back to back.
It feels so hard, jumping every hurdle,
Every setback makes me feel like a turtle.
I get tired of running,
But I wasn’t tired of chasing people
Who were no longer meant to be.
So I keep pushing,
So in the end, I can finally feel free.
I get tired of writing essays in class,
But I wasn’t tired of texting, over-explaining myself
To people who didn’t need it.
So I move on and keep pushing
Till I’ve finally succeeded.
On the track, it’s you vs. you.
For people who haven’t experienced that,
They might think it’s too good to be true.
At the end of the day, you’re always going to have you.
They’ve found other people,
But at least you’ve found yourself
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